1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle having a vehicle fresh air intake that inhibits entry of water and debris.
2. Background Art
A vehicle may use ambient air from outside of the vehicle for a number of purposes. For example, vehicle radiators utilize ambient air to transfer heat from the engine coolant, to keep the engine from overheating. Outside air may also be mixed with fuel and supplied to the engine. Moreover, outside air may be utilized by heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), which in turn maintain the climate of the vehicle passenger compartment. Of course, other vehicle systems may utilize outside air for a number of reasons, including the cooling of electrical components. When electrical components overheat, their performance may degrade or their life span may be compromised. Thus, adequate cooling for electrical components is an important consideration in vehicle design.
One example of a vehicle system that requires adequate cooling a bank of batteries used to power an electric vehicle. Other types of vehicle architectures—e.g., hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and fuel cell vehicles—may similarly have power generating systems that emit large quantities of heat. Thus, it may be desirable to provide ambient air either directly to these systems, or to an HVAC that may further lower the air temperature to more effectively cool the vehicle system. One example of a fresh air intake used to take in ambient air to cool a bank of batteries in an electric vehicle is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,873, issued to Masuyama et al. on Feb. 28, 1995. Masuyama et al. describes a structure for holding the batteries that includes an air intake passage. The air intake for the battery compartment is disposed beneath the vehicle, with an inlet facing upward toward the vehicle undercarriage. Because the inlet is disposed beneath the vehicle, liquid and solid debris from the road surface may enter the air intake. The air intake is provided with a chamber where liquid and other foreign material may be trapped prior to entering the battery compartment. The location of the air intake below the vehicle may increase the likelihood of taking in road debris.
Thus, there exists a need for a vehicle having an air intake configured to facilitate air transfer from an ambient environment outside the vehicle to a vehicle space, such that the air intake can be disposed on a portion of the vehicle away from the surface of the road, thereby reducing or eliminating the intake of road debris, while also inhibiting the transfer of water from the air intake to the vehicle space.